2015 NFL Draft: The Turf Report, Week 1

Each week I’ll take a look at some of the more impressive running back performances around College football, while also previewing a player worth paying attention to the following weekend.

Week one gave us many stellar outings from backs around the country, here are the three that stood out most to me;

Todd Gurley, Georgia (6’1’’ 226lbs) vs. Clemson

ATTEMPTS

YARDS

AVERAGE

LONG

TD

RECEPTIONS

YARDS

AVERAGE

LONG

TD

15

198

13.2

51

3

1

-5

-5

0

0

Gurley is an absolute beast. Running backs have not fared well in round one of NFL Drafts the past few years, but if Gurley continues to perform like he did this past weekend, that trend might change. His explosiveness and power paired with his balance make him a tall order for defenders to tackle. Gurley’s 100 yard kick return for a touchdown displayed just how fast the 6’1″ 226lbs back can be when given open space.

DJ Foster, Arizona State (5’11” 203lbs) vs. Weber State

ATTEMPTS

YARDS

AVERAGE

LONG

TD

RECEPTIONS

YARDS

AVERAGE

LONG

TD

15

147

9.8

57

3

4

26

6.5

16

0

With Marion Grice graduating to the pros this past offseason, the Sun Devils placed the bell around Foster’s neck for the 2014 season. Foster is a versatile back much like Grice, and offers a lot of athleticism out of the back field. Foster only caught the ball 4 times for 26 yards, but as the season progresses and he becomes more comfortable in the starting role, I expect those receiving numbers to escalate. He failed to hit the long ball against Weber State, but averaging almost 10 yards per carry after only toting the rock 15 times shows he’s ready for a heftier workload going forward.

Paul James, Rutgers (6’0 205lbs) vs. Washington State

ATTEMPTS

YARDS

AVERAGE

LONG

TD

RECEPTIONS

YARDS

AVERAGE

LONG

TD

29

173

6.0

56

3

0

0

0

0

0

In what was one of the more exciting games over the weekend, Rutgers edged out Washington States in the final minutes of game action, due largely to the efforts of James. James showed how slippery he can be between the tackles when he took a toss from Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova 56 yards to the house. After a break out sophomore campaign that saw him run for almost 900 yards, I see no reason why James won’t eclipse those numbers this season, and position himself as one of The Big Ten’s premier backs.

After a less than impressive outing by his standards, Johnson will look to bounce back in a big way versus an inferior Florida A&M squad. I expect Johnson to run hard and with aggression after the Hurricane’s loss to Louisville in week one. I was tempted to project over 200 yards on the ground for him, but have a feeling his carries will diminish as the Canes run away with this contest by the third quarter.